PhD, MPH
Assistant Professor, Division of General Medicine and Clinical Epidemiology
UNC-Chapel Hill
Cancer Prevention and Control
Alison Brenner, PhD, MPH, is a research assistant professor at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine in the Division of General Internal Medicine and Clinical Epidemiology. She completed her MPH degree at the UNC Gillings School of Public Health and her PhD in Health Services Research at the University of Washington Seattle. In 2013, Brenner returned to UNC as an NRSA Postdoctoral Fellow at the Sheps Center. Brenner’s career in research at UNC began in 2005 when she was a project manager for the Sheps Center for Health Services Research. In 2016, she became the deputy director for the Carolina Cancer Screening Initiative within the UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center.
Area of Interest
Brenner’s primary areas of inquiry are in development and implementation of interventions aimed at improving delivery of appropriate preventive services in primary care, with a particular emphasis on cancer screening shared decision-making. She has expertise in development and testing of patient decision aids and in using clinical data systems to improve implementation of cancer screening. Her particular cancer prevention topics of interest are colorectal, lung, and prostate cancer screening, and she particularly focuses on vulnerable or rural populations and/or those with substantial disparities in cancer screening uptake.
News and Stories
Text messaging proves effective in communicating about colorectal cancer screening, promoting shared decision-making
A study by UNC researchers has demonstrated that text messaging is an effective and well-received tool to communicate about colorectal cancer screening.
Evidence review examines both benefits and harms for lung cancer screening
A comprehensive review of articles on lung cancer prevention screening with low-dose spiral computed tomography shows there are both benefits and harms from screening.
Scientists zero in on ways to boost colorectal cancer screening
Daniel Reuland, MD, MPH, and colleagues published a review of data from 73 randomized clinical trials that tested different ways of increasing screening for colorectal cancer. Their analysis identified three approaches as being the most effective.
